Protecting Children in Cyberspace: The ICAC Task Force Program. Juvenile Justice Bulletin

摘要

Large numbers of young people are encountering unwanted sexual solicitations that, in the most serious cases, involve being targeted by offenders seeking children for sex. Research conducted by the University of New Hampshire and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) disclosed that one in five children ages 10-17 received a sexual solicitation over the Internet in the past year. One in thirty-three received an aggressive solicitation that is, the solicitor asked to meet them somewhere, called them on the telephone, or sent them regular mail, money, or gifts. Unfortunately, the Internet is a nearly perfect medium for offenders seeking children for sex. It provides privacy, anonymity, and a virtually unlimited pool of unsupervised children and teenagers who may be susceptible to manipulation. Cloaked in the anonymity of cyberspace, sex offenders can capitalize on the natural curiosity of children, seeking victims with little risk of interdiction. These offenders no longer need to lurk in parks and malls. Instead, they roam from chatroom to chatroom looking for vulnerable, susceptible children.